Among those who helped inform the report was Sarah Brown, a domestic abuse survivor whose court case has remained open for nearly a decade.
Brown said she sought an order of protection against the father of her child after he physically abused her.
"My son was about six months old, and from that moment, did not ever think that me pursuing an order of protection that my life will be turned upside down," Brown said.
Brown said her case remains open and that she has been assigned to nine different judges. She said she has had to repeatedly retell her story because there are no court reporters in domestic relations court.
The report identifies a fractured and uncoordinated court system as a major challenge for survivors seeking protection and justice.
"It's a really complicated system with multiple judges, multiple locations, and it's really hard to track because there's no data available," said Katie Gunn of the City of Chicago-Cook County Violence Against Women Task Force.
According to the report, victims are often directed from one court to another, including domestic violence, domestic relations and criminal courts. The report also found that data is not shared among judges, creating additional hurdles for survivors.
Brown said the process can also be financially burdensome.
"This has cost me over $30,000, throughout this process and anyone that goes through domestic relations court experience judges appointing private attorneys at rates that are definitely high," Brown said.
Brown also said judges have threatened her with jail time for being unable to afford court-appointed private attorneys.
The report was presented before the Chicago City Council's Public Safety Committee. The joint city-county task force was created six months ago, during a period when city homicides were declining but domestic-related fatal shootings increased by 56% in 2025. According to the report, 75% of the victims were Black.
Task force members said one of their primary objectives is to improve coordination across the court system.
"The principal goals were to create a unified system. That is something that will not happen overnight. There's legislation that needs to take place," Gunn said.
The report includes recommendations aimed at increasing transparency, expanding Freedom of Information Act requests throughout the Cook County court system and improving data sharing among courts and judges.
Brown said better information sharing should be a top priority.
"I believe that information needs to be shared between courthouses. That is, to me, the most important piece of of the report and the recommendation," she said.
Task force members said that since the group began focusing on the court system six months ago, domestic violence murders have decreased by 50%.